The present invention relates to a bottle conveying and cleaning system, and more particularly to a system for receiving bottles having an open end and a closed end in open-end trailing disposition, reorienting them, cleaning in the open-end downward disposition and then placing them onto an output conveyor in open-end up disposition.
Pharmaceutical companies, cosmetic manufacturers and others sell millions of bottles filled with various products yearly. These bottles often must be cleaned before being filled to remove foreign matter from interiors and prevent contamination of the product. It is desirable to perform the cleaning operation with the open end of the bottles facing downward, so that gravity will help remove foreign matter from the interiors. It is usually essential to perform the filling operation with the open ends of the bottles facing up so that the product will be retained by gravity in the bottle until the open end is capped.
The bottles usually are received from the bottle manufacturing operation in completely random orientation. My prior copending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 763,906, filed Jan. 31, 1977, assigned to New England Machinery Inc., the assignee hereof, discloses means for taking these randomly arranged bottles and orienting them into uniform, open-end trailing disposition in a rotary conveyor and is incorporated by reference herein. My prior copending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 819,601, filed July 27, 1977, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,390, and also assigned to New England Machinery Inc., which is also incorporated by reference herein, discloses means for removing bottles disposed in open-end trailing disposition from a vertical rotary conveyor and placing them in stable, open-end up disposition onto a linear output conveyor.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which will quickly and reliably take bottles in open-end trailing disposition on a rotary conveyor, reorient them to open-end downward disposition and place them on a linear conveyor in open end downward disposition for cleaning.
It is a further object of this invention to provide means for cleaning each bottle while it is being carried on the linear conveyor with its open end down and to provide means for removing each bottle from the linear conveyor, inverting it, and placing it onto an output conveyor with its open end up.
It is yet another object of this invention to accomplish the inversion of each bottle after cleaning and its placement onto the output conveyor by reorienting each bottle from its open end downward disposition at least partially into an open-end horizontally trailing disposition as it nears the downstream end of the linear conveyor after cleaning, then placing it into a second vertical rotary conveyor in open-end trailing disposition, and removing it from the second vertical rotary conveyor when it has attained a generally open-end up disposition by rotation with the second rotary conveyor.
It is still a further object of this invention to have the upstream portion of the first vertical rotary conveyor serve as part of a bottle discriminating means for receiving a succession of bottles in random open-end leading bottles to an open-end trailing disposition. This use of the first vertical rotary conveyor avoids the need for a complete, separate, discriminating apparatus. In this connection, it should be noted that guide means for supplying the succession of bottles in timed sequence are normally associated with such discriminating means. It is a further object of the invention to maintain the bottles in timed sequence at least until they are discharged from the linear conveyor to facilitate the various reorientation and handling steps. It is yet another object to carry each bottle through the apparatus, at least to the downstream end of the linear conveyor, in continuous motion. This use of a continuous motion avoids the limitations on the speed of the apparatus which would be inherent in repeatedly stopping and starting the motion of each bottle.
Discriminating apparatus of the type set forth in my prior U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 763,906 commonly employs an lever with a integral, selective bottle engaging arm. The lever is pivotally mounted and biased so that the engaging arm is urged in the upstream direction, against the flow of a succession of bottles being moved past it by mobile gripping means. The lever engages only those bottles with open-end leading orientation, and, in cooperation with the gripping means, turns such bottles towards an open-end trailing orientation. It is another object of this invention to provide improved means for biasing the lever of the discriminating apparatus.